


Scruffy

by angel1876



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Domestic, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Fluff, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Past Abuse, Past Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-07
Updated: 2017-10-07
Packaged: 2019-01-10 04:52:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12291651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angel1876/pseuds/angel1876
Summary: There are many, many things about yourself that you haven't told her yet.After all, despite the fact you were together, you've really only known Jaehee less than a month.





	Scruffy

Not once in your life had you ever entertained the thought that one day, you would be the co-owner of a bakery. Money was an issue, for one. Starting up a business was a costly venture. For another, you'd never had any sort of training in the cooking field. Eggs were about the extent of your experience on the matter, and even then you messed up on occasion. If anyone asked you a month ago what you'd be doing in thirty days, this wouldn't have been in the realm of possibility.

The entire thing felt so surreal. A very big part of you expected to wake up one day and find out it was all a dream, yet that moment never came. When you opened your eyes, it was to your new bedroom, sparely furnished with just a bed and a dresser for clothes. When you came out to the kitchen, it was to fresh, white counter tops and a pot of coffee brewing in a recently bought machine.

And when you felt fingertips curl about your own, full of warmth that had nothing to do with temperature, it was Jaehee who greeted you with 'Good morning' and a kiss at your cheek.

You responded with a hug, nuzzling your face into her neck. "Morning...how did you sleep?"

"I slept quite well. And you?"

"Same. Thank you."

The two of you held that embrace for a long moment, your fingers brushing over her spine while hers thread through your hair. Your skin sparked at every inch of contact, electric, unused to the attention. The sensation buzzed through you even after you'd parted from her, almost to the point of crawling, though not in an unpleasant way. You grabbed a pair of coffee cups while she got the cereal bowls out.

Given that it was early, early morning, the sun wasn't up yet. While you were grateful for the low light, you had never been a morning person. You rubbed at your eyes as the two of you sat down at the table, and you couldn't help but admire how little time it took for her to wake up despite the hour. It was easy enough to understand, she _was_  the assistant to a big cooperation before all this.

To contrast, you weren't even a student. No job, no goals, nothing. The fact that you had responsibilities now was going to take a long time to get used to.

You sipped at your coffee, going over a list of things you needed to do once you got to the cafe. Given that baked goods take so long, they had to be started a few hours before the shop even opened. Particularly when it came to bread, which got better the longer the dough fermented. It was a lot to have on your plate all at once out of nowhere, but you were going to do your best. 

Glancing at Jaehee over the rim of your cup, you saw that she, too, had a distracted look about her. Probably going through her own internal to-do list. A faint smile formed at the messy fluffiness of her hair, the way her nightshirt was so loose when compared to the suit she wore when you met her. She looked much more comfortable now than she did back then. 

Back then. Only a month ago.

It took eleven days for the two of you to agree on a partnership. Five days to follow through with said partnership and get that cafe set up, and another week to settle into something resembling a routine. You let your gaze fall away from her to instead focus into the distance, thinking on all the choices that led you to where you were. 

Given the incredibly short time you'd known each other, there was going to be quite a bit of history neither of you knew. It was only natural. This was part of the reason that you'd both agreed to take it slow. Date, get a feel for one another, all that good stuff. This was also why you each had your own room.

You finished off your cereal, waited for her to finish hers, and you took the dishes to the sink to be washed. Jaehee dried, and you continued to reflect.

There were several things about yourself you'd not told her yet. Things you might have to bring up one day. Things you really didn't want to draw attention to at this time.

You hadn't been in the best of places when you came to the RFA. Your parents...weren't good people. On top of emotional abuse and manipulation, they kept you isolated from everyone. You'd had no friends, nothing outside of the immediate family. You were like some sort of doll, put up on a shelf and forgotten except when they wanted someone to yell at. It'd been a bad day. An argument broke out, and you ran off with no where else to go.

You'd been planning on coming back, of course. What other choice did you have? But you were angry, and you needed space, and so you started walking and you didn't stop. That was the day you found a phone on the ground, and when you'd picked it up, a stranger on the other end asked you to come to the apartment to return it. You'd done so, not because you didn't question it or thought that the request wasn't suspicious...you'd done it because, in the moment, you hadn't cared about the risk involved.

It wasn't something you were proud of, but ultimately, you couldn't say that you didn't benefit from going, either. Not that you were going to make it a habit of following the requests of people you didn't know. You'd made a terrible decision that, as luck had it, worked out for the better.

Eleven days in Rika's apartment, helping out with the party, all contact with your family completely cut off. You were planning on going back...but at the end of those eleven days, after supporting Jaehee and trying to convince Jumin that he was overworking her, she quit, and she came to you with a key and that offer. Come work with her in her cafe, and you can chase your dreams together. Accepting the key, you became partners with her in more than one way, both in the sense that you co-owned the place, and in the sense that...well, she was your girlfriend. 

Things were going well. Better than you could have hopped. You were learning how to make bread, and cake, and other pastries, and although you were far from perfect, you were making progress. You were also learning how to do coffee, which was harder than the baking aspect of the job, strangely enough.

The dishes done, it was time to get ready for work. You gave her shoulder a friendly squeeze before retreating into your room, getting your outfit on, brushing your teeth. The bottoms of your feet ached when you put your shoes on, but it was better now than it was on your first day. Just as you were getting ready to tend to your hair, Jaehee knocked on the door. 

Already ready, she said, "Your hair is so much longer than mine...and I was thinking, since it took no time at all to brush mine, perhaps I could brush yours? I understand if you'd rather do it yourself, but..."

You felt your cheeks warm. "N-no, I'd really like it if you would."

Once she grabbed the brush, she had you turn your back to her. With slow, careful strokes, she moved the brush through your hair, mindful of the knots hiding away underneath. It caught a few times, and each time you winced she apologized, but for the most part she was able to work most everything out painlessly. Once all the knots were gone, she continued to brush your hair, the bristles moving smoothly from your scalp down toward the center of your back. You closed your eyes, relaxing into it, enjoying the attention.

After a few wonderful minutes of this, she wrapped her arms around your shoulders, her face buried into the top of your head, warm breath against your skin. Your hand found one of hers, trailing over her knuckles before threading your fingers through her own.

Once again, her touch lingered even after you parted. 

After that, what followed was a long day of work. Good smelling food, mostly pleasant customers, and a whole lot of kneading and brewing. Breaks had to be taken separately, given that there wasn't anyone else working with you. One day, when the cafe wasn't quite so new, you'd get some staff hired, then you could do lunch with her at the same time. But for now, you worked independent of one another, with the exception of helping each other out whenever you hit a snag.

About a half hour before closing, when everything was slowing down and you were getting the tables cleaned off for the night, the door opened. Seven walked in. 

You greeted him with a wave. "Hey! What can I get you?"

He grinned, eyes bright between those glasses of his. That beacon of light both in the chatroom and out. "Actually, I'm not here for food or anything. And coffee isn't really my style. PHD. Pepper all the way! But...I would like to talk to Jaehee. Is she around?"

"Yeah, sure. Let me go get her."

You let her know that he was there to see her, and went back to tending to the tables. As you wiped everything down, you noticed the both of them went outside. 

They were gone for a good fifteen minutes. 

By the time Jaehee came back, you'd finished up with what you were doing, and gotten the floor swept on top of that. Just as you were starting to wonder if something was wrong, she called you over. Came up and leaned on you, giving your arm a squeeze. She said, "Good job today. I think we're pretty much done. I went ahead and flipped the sign to closed. Come on, Seven and I have something we want to talk to you about."

"...is everything okay?" you ask, feeling a chill in your chest at the mere prospect. 'We need to talk' is one of the scariest things anyone can say to you.

Jaehee seemed to notice, because she gave your arm another squeeze, her voice softening, "Yes, everything's fine. It isn't anything bad. Just come with me."

She led you outside. As you followed, despite her words, your nerves got the better of you. Quiet, turning panic deep in your chest, expecting the worst. You stepped outside...and froze.

Seven stood there, waiting for the two of you, and in his arms he held a dog. A very familiar dog, one that perked up the moment he laid eyes on you, his tail wagging a mile a minute as he struggled to get our of Seven's arms and into yours.

"Scruffy!" 

Without thought, you pulled away from Jaehee to go get your dog, taking him from Seven and hugging him to your chest. He licked your face and your fingertips, squirming with excitement and lightly mouthing you for more attention.

Seven laughed. "I found him wandering about the street. Poor guy must have gotten out somehow. I remembered seeing a picture of you with him when I ran my background check, and I thought you might like to have him back."

"T-thank you!"

Scruffy. Scruffy-scruffy! You hadn't thought you'd see him again. He was back at the house, with your parents, and while you knew they wouldn't have let anything happen to him, you also didn't expect for them to keep him with you gone. They would have found him a different home.

But they didn't, and he was here. You pressed your face into his fur, giggling, no longer in the least bit tired.

A hand rest against your upper back, and Jaehee said, "We can pick up some dog food on the way home. And toys? Does he play?"

You didn't realize how wet your face was when you looked up, tears welling, dampening your face as you met her gaze, lips pulled hopelessly back into a smile. Your chest felt warm, your everything felt warm, and you turned, struggling to hug both her and the dog at once.

She held you with one arm and helped you support Scruffy with the other. 

"Thank you...!" you said again, this time to her. 

You knew she wasn't the biggest fan of animals...and she hadn't even brought that up. She didn't comment on the dog hair, which you were going to be careful of, you were going to make sure she didn't regret letting Scruffy into the house for one moment. 

"Of course," she said, holding you a moment more before gently pulling away, "We should get home. Get him acclimated to the new environment so he sleeps tonight. We still have to be up early in the morning." She looked at Seven. "Although they've already thanked you, I'd like to thank you myself on their behalf. It's nice seeing them that happy."

Oh, now you were blushing.  
  
Seven grinned, "It's nothing! Just another day in the life of 707! Defender of justice!!"

And so, the two of you got all the supplies you needed, and once you got home, you dog proofed the house together. She did her best to adapt to Scruffy's presence, and you did your best to make that adaptation easy. You were endlessly grateful she didn't try to make you get rid of him, or suggest a different home. 

The next day, after the two of you came home from work, you sat together on the couch. Your arm around her waist and her head resting against yours, Scruffy asleep in your lap.

On the news, there was a story about two very upset individuals whose house was broken into. The windows were shattered, every single one, but nothing inside was touched or damaged...save for the dog, who went missing. Those people were your parents, and that house was your old home.

You stared at the screen in silence.

Jaehee, her breath warm against your ear and her voice lowered to a whisper, said, "You don't have to talk about anything you don't want to talk about, but you should know that I did some research into legal matters regarding this. They can't arrest you because there's no proof you were the one who broke in, and they can't take your dog because he is licensed to you."

"...remind me to never get on yours or Seven's bad side."

She snorted with mirth, which made you laugh, too.


End file.
